{{Events by month|2015|prefix=Portal:Current events/}}
{{Events by month|2015|prefix=Portal:Current events/}}
'''[[December]]''' '''[[2015]]''' is the final month of the year [[2015]]. It which began on a [[Tuesday]] and then ended after 31 days on a [[Thursday]].
'''[[December]]''' '''[[2015]]''' was the twelfth and final month of that common year. The month, which began on a [[Tuesday]], ended on a [[Thursday]] after 31 days.
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{{Portal:Current events/Month Inclusion|2015 December}}<!-- NOTE: This part of the portal expands rightwards to accommodate the body copy within it. DO NOT REMOVE THIS COMMENT, REGARDLESS OF DATE -->
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The Iraqi government, via state TV, requests all civilians leave the ISIL-held city of Ramadi in Anbar province, after several days of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against ISIL. Observers speculate this request precedes major ground operations to retake Ramadi, which fell to ISIL in May. (Deutsche Welle)
A major push by Yemen-based Houthi forces into the kingdom's southern Najran Region kills dozens of Houthi fighters. The Houthi-run Saba News Agency says that Houthi fighters have seized three Saudi military outposts near the city of Najran, destroying several armored vehicles, including two U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks and three Bradley vehicles. (Reuters)
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announces the plan to donate 99 percent of the company stock he and his wife Priscilla Chan own over their lifetimes, shares today worth about $45 billion, to "advance human potential and promote equality for all children." (The Washington Post)
An American E. coli scare results in the recall of hundreds of thousands of products in a dozen states and covering major supermarket chains including Walmart, Safeway and Albertsons. (CNN)
The United StatesCenters for Disease Control announces the number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes declined in 2014 for the fifth consecutive year. Experts do not know whether efforts to prevent diabetes are finally started to work, or if the disease has simply peaked in the population. (NPR), (The New York Times)
Chicago, Illinois Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked for and received the resignation of that city’s police superintendent Garry McCarthy. Emanuel spoke of the loss of the public’s confidence in the city police and announced a task force on police accountability. The change comes in the wake of protests over the release of police footage showing the October 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. (CNN)
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Texas and other states for a 30-day extension to file legal briefs in support of the lawsuit to block the immigration plan. Instead, the justices accepted the Justice Department’s request for a shortened eight-day extension, meaning that if the court decides to take the case, a decision would probably come by late June. The court is not expected to decide until January whether to take the case. (The Washington Post)
Russia expands its military presence in Syria with an additional airbase that can accommodate fixed-winged military aircraft. The U.S. Department of Defense also confirms that Russia added S-400surface-to-air missiles to its Syrian stockpile and armed its military aircraft with air-to-air missiles. According to Military Times, "A Pentagon spokesman expressed concern" these moves indicate Russia's commitment to aiding the embattled Assad regime as opposed to combating ISIL. No Syrian opposition groups including ISIL have combat-ready aircraft that require air-to-air missiles. (Fox News), (Military Times)
Cameroon’s army, backed by a regional taskforce, has killed at least 100 members of the militant Islamist Boko Haram group and freed 900 people it had held hostage, the west African country’s defence ministry has said. Regional taskforce conducts sweep along border with Nigeria. (The Guardian), (AFP via Yahoo)
A second shooting incident near 1757 Richardson in San Bernardino unfolded around 3:00 p.m. PST, with police requesting a BearCat and medical assistance. Both suspects die on-scene. (The New York Times), (The Los Angeles Times)
Arts and culture
The Institute of Contemporary History in Munich announces a publication of a two-volume set of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The new edition, which contains 3,500 scholarly annotations, is intended, The New York Times reports, “To set the work in historical context, to show how Hitler wove truth with half-truth and outright lie, and thus to defang any propagandistic effect while revealing Nazism.” This is the first printing in Germany since the end of World War II. (The New York Times), (The Week)
Days of heavy rain in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu causes floods with many areas in the city of Chennai under water. The death toll from rain-related incidents has reached 188. (The Hindu)
Authorities arrest four Kosovo jihadists men, three in Italy and one in Kosovo, for making nonspecific threats against Pope Francis and the former U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo. The men are described by police as highly dangerous and as having celebrated the November 2015 Paris attacks. (The Independent via MSN)
Politics and elections
YemeniPrime MinisterKhaled Bahah rejects a cabinet reshuffle ordered by PresidentAbd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, another sign of the deepening rift between the two leaders. These problems started in March after the president appointed the minister of health as acting foreign minister without consulting the prime minister. (Reuters)
Following the Obama Administration's pledge of additional Special Operations troops to Iraq, several members of Iraq’s ruling alliance state that only the Iraqi Parliament can authorize the action, and political associates of Iraqi Prime MinisterHaider al-Abadi report such a troop expansion would be unacceptable. Several members of Iraqi militias have also decried a deployment of more U.S. troops. During the pull out from Iraq, president Obama promised there would be no more "boots on the ground" in Iraq again. (Reuters)
Harvard Law School officials are reviewing the use of the school’s seal that includes three bushels of wheat, which also appears on Isaac Royall's family coat of arms. Royall, a slaveholder whose father was known to be a cruel owner, left part of his estate to help found the law school. (MSNBC), (The Boston Globe)
Business and economy
Samsung concedes to surrender $548 million to Apple Inc. over previously court-held ruling in patent dispute over copying the look of the iPhone. (Reuters)
The Swedish government wants to be able to close the Øresund Bridge connecting Sweden to Denmark if the country's record refugee influx continues. (The Local)
U.S. Attorney GeneralLoretta Lynch announces criminal corruption charges against 16 FIFA officials in an indictment that expands Justice's May filing that indicted 14 officials associated with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and related sports marketing companies. At U.S. authorities request, Swiss police arrest two South AmericanFIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) officials at the five-starBaur au Lac hotel in Zürich, on suspicion of accepting "millions of dollars" in bribes. In addition, eight of the defendants indicted in May have pleaded guilty. (CNN), (The New York Daily News)
Many parts of Chennai still remain flooded, including almost all of South Chennai. Food and other basics are in short supply throughout the city. (The Times of India)
Three suicide bombers at Lake Chad kill at least 30 people and injure at least 80 others. Three women carried out the attack at a weekly market on an island on the Chadian side of the lake. No group claims responsibility; officials suspect the attacks were carried out by members of the Boko Haram militant group from neighboring Nigeria. (Al Jazeera), (BBC)
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announces the discovery of the SpanishgalleonSan José which sunk off that country’s coast over 300 years ago. The discovery was a joint venture between Colombia and U.S. firm Sea Search Armada, which filed a lawsuit when Colombia claimed the wreck as a heritage site. The wreck’s cargo is placed somewhere in the $4 to $17 billion range. (NPR)
Residents in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu grapple with the aftermath of the worst deluge in decades, a disaster that claimed 280 lives, according to the official death toll. More than half of Chennai's 859 city areas remain under water in the flat, coastal city of six million. The National Disaster Response Force's Rekha Nambiar said, “Rescue work is over. We are focused on relief now." (The Malay Mail), (The Gulf Today)
A series of air strikes in Syria'sRaqqa province, believed to be carried out by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, leaves at least 32 Islamic State fighters killed and 40 more wounded. The final toll could rise as casualty figures were collected from a single hospital. The jets hit IS headquarters and bases to the north, east, and southeast of provincial capital Raqqa city. (Reuters)(AFP via Dawn)
Finland's government plans to give all its citizens, rich or poor, a monthly payment of €800, with no strings attached. The Finnish government says it wants to launch a “universal basic income experiment” in 2017 to test the feasibility of this program, which would replace the country’s current benefits system. (The Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo)
Turkish and Ukrainian firms talk out a cooperation deal to help modernize their country's militaries in the wake of military actions by Russia. (Defense News)
Germany's vice-chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, accuses Saudi Arabia of financing Islamic extremism in the West and warns that it must stop. He tells German media, “We have to make clear to the Saudis that the time of looking away is over, Wahhabi mosques all over the world are financed by Saudi Arabia. Many Islamists who are a threat to public safety come from these communities in Germany". His comments come days after Germany's Federal Intelligence Service released a report saying Saudi Arabia was "destabilizing" the Arab world. (The Telegraph)
Law and crime
Clashes erupt in Athens between left-wing demonstrators and Greek police with at least eighteen people arrested. (Reuters)
Venezuelan opposition leaders say their Democratic Unity Roundtable has won control of the 167-seat legislature from the ruling Socialists for the first time since 1998. There is no confirmation on Sunday's election from the national electoral board. An opposition victory would be a major setback for the socialist revolution started 17 years ago by the late Hugo Chávez. (AP)(Reuters)(AP)
Voters in Armenia go to the polls to vote in a referendum to change from a presidential to a parliamentary form of government. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Voters in France begin voting in the first round of regional elections just three weeks after the deadly Islamic Statemilitant attacks in Paris. Exit polls show strong gains for the far-right National Front which is leading in six regions and reshape the political landscape after decades of domination by the centre-left and the centre-right coalitions. Midday voter participation is 16.27 percent, marginally higher than five years ago. There are 44.6 million eligible voters. (Reuters)(France 24)[permanent dead link](France24)
Turkey refuses to withdraw its forces from northern Iraq despite being given a 48 hour ultimatum by Iraq to leave the country. Turkey says the troops are there as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight against the Islamic State. The Iraqi government says it never invited such a force, and will take its case to the United Nations if they are not pulled out. (Reuters)
Business and economics
The United StatesFederal Trade Commission (FTC) files an administrative complaint challenging office-supplies giant Staples' proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of top rival Office Depot. The FTC said the deal would significantly reduce national competition in the market for office supplies sold to large business customers. The companies plan to contest the FTC decision. (USA Today)(Bloomberg via Chicago Tribune)
Desmond's fury and flooding has resulted in at least two deaths. Cumbria Police say about 5,000 properties were flooded and around 3,000 remain without power. (Sky News)(ITV)
Flooding that's devastated parts of northwest England, on Sunday temporarily brought a 260-foot high waterfall in the Yorkshire Dales National Park back to life for the first time in residents' living memory. But by today, it stopped. (Sky News)
The JAXA probe Akatsuki successfully enters orbit around Venus five years after the first attempt. This mission is Japan's first successful mission to another planet. The orbital injection was achieved using the probe's attitude control thrusters, a feat which has never been done before. (Gizmag)(Spaceflight Now)
A $28,500 deposit was made to Syed Farook’s bank account two weeks before he and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the San Bernardino massacre, a source close to the investigation says. Investigators are exploring whether the transaction was a personal loan or something else. (SBS)(Fox News)
According to the FBI, the couple that perpetrated the attack had long been radicalized, and had been practicing at a target range days before their murder spree. (New York Times)
FBI agents found an empty GoPro package, shooting targets, and tools inside a car belonging to the mother of San Bernardino mass-shooter Syed Farook. (Daily Mail)
Rebels in Homs and the Syrian government agree to a local ceasefire that is to include the withdrawal of opposition fighters from the al-Waer neighborhood, the only area of the heavily damaged city still under rebel control. The evacuation is expected to start Wednesday. Residents are hoping to return in the next few days. (Daily Mail)(CBS News via Hawaii News Now)
UK-based Anglo American plc (AAUKF) announces plans to slash 85k jobs and shed 60% of assets over the next several years; it will also halt dividend payments for the rest of 2015-16 and cut capital expenditures. The company cited depressed commodity prices for its actions. (CNNMoney)
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump early Tuesday rejected criticism of his call to "shut the door" on Muslims entering the U.S. during a heated round of interviews in which he said he was not worried about being compared to Hitler. (The Hill)
A Palestinian man injures an Israeli civilian and a soldier in a stabbing attack before the attacker is shot and killed by security forces in the city of Hebron. (The Jerusalem Post)
Amnesty International reports that years of foreign military intervention, poor oversight on weapons sales, and lack of control over the international flow of weaponry have enabled ISIL to accumulate its vast armaments stockpile. Amnesty International calls for weapons embargoes and the ratification of the global Arms Trade Treaty by nations that have not already done so and, at the same time, are sources of weapons in the ISIL stockpile. (Agence France-Presse via AlJazeera America)(Agence France-Presse via Defense News)
Heavy rains continue to lash Thanjavur and Thanjavur district, inundating urban areas and hundreds of acres of farmland. Many residential areas in Thanjavur have been marooned by rising water. (The Hindu)
A group of mayors and officials from American cities such as Philadelphia and New York City say that if they had their way Donald Trump would be banned from their cities for his comments on Muslims. (NBC)
Millions of voters in the world's third biggest democracy participated in Indonesia's local elections in 264 regions, just over half of the country's electorates. There is heightened security due to threats by domestic terror groups linked to the Islamic State, as well as increased scrutiny to prevent electoral fraud. Direct elections to choose local leaders were established a decade ago. Official results from the polls will not be available until December 18, 2015. (Straits Times)(Deutsche Welle)
Pro-Hadi government forces backed by Arab coalition air and naval forces, seize control of the Hanish Islands off the coast of Yemen, near the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb strait from troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The islands have been subject to heavy shelling by coalition forces for weeks according to local fishermen. (Reuters)
Swiss officials say police, based on a CIA tip, are hunting for at least four Islamic State-associated suspects believed to be plotting an attack in Geneva. (AP)
Syrian opposition politicians and rebels, attending a two-day meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, agree on a framework that would guide proposed talks to end Syria's nearly five-year conflict: a civil, democratic Syria with a transitional government that would respect human rights and the territorial integrity of the country; and, safeguard state institutions while restructuring security forces. Ahrar ash-Sham, a Saudi-backed ultraconservative group, withdrew from the talks at the end of the meeting. (BBC)(AP)
Burundi’s army repels attacks on military barracks in the capital, Bujumbura, in the worst violence since this spring's unrest that developed after PresidentPierre Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term in office. According to an army spokesman, at least 12 gunmen are killed and 20 captured. Reports that at least five soldiers have been killed are denied by the army, which says the soldiers were wounded. Two southern sites, a police station and an army camp, were also attacked, with no report on casualties. Kenya Airways and RwandAir cancels its flights to Bujumbura. (Al Jazeera)(Bloomberg)
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's branch in Libya (Libya Province) seizes control of the western Libyan town of Sabratha, after storming it in retaliation after two of their men were arrested in a house nearby; however they then set up checkpoints around the town, with little opposition from the local militias that were supposed to be in control of the area. There are now fears that the militant group could destroy the town's Roman amphitheatre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (The Telegraph)
Swisspolice in Geneva, following yesterday's CIA tip, arrest two Syrian nationals. Apparently, traces of explosives were found in their car. PresidentSimonetta Sommaruga says, "There is currently no indication that there was a concrete attack planned." (Sky News)
Two of the U.S.’s oldest and largest companies, DuPont and Dow Chemical Company, will merge in an all-stock deal valued at $130 billion. The deal, which includes future plans for DowDuPont to split into three independent, public companies, is expected to face intense scrutiny from federal antitrust regulators, who will examine the impact on prices and the availability of vital seeds and herbicides.(Reuters)(The Washington Post)
Major UK-based reinsurance broker Aon Benfield estimates India has suffered over US$3 billion (over Rs. 200 billion) worth of losses as a result of the flooding, and rates them as the costliest floods and the eighth-costliest natural disaster of 2015.(Business Standard)
Sixteen people are killed and many more injured by a car bomb and a second, delayed explosion near a hospital in Syria's mainly Alawite, government-controlled neighborhood of al-Zahra, east of Homs' old city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports. The attack comes just five days after the government and rebels agreed on a local ceasefire in the western al-Waer suburb. (Reuters)(EuroNews)
Burundi'sarmy reports 87 people, including eight government defenders, were killed, and 45 attackers captured in Friday's clashes at three military sites in Bujumbura. Police have not identified the gunmen. Witnesses report some of the victims' arms were tied behind their backs while others were killed at close range. This was the worst violence since this spring's attempted coup d'état. One of the generals behind the failed coup says his rebel group still wants to oust the president. (Reuters)(AFP via Global Post)
After two months of investigations, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) announces the death toll from the U.S.airstrikes on its Kunduz Trauma Centre has risen from 30 to 42. MSF says 14 MSF staff were killed, as well as four caretakers and 24 patients. Also, MSF delivered a petition to the White House this week, signed by 547,000 people, calling for an independent investigation into the US airstrike. (The Guardian)(Daily Mail)
Residents in the United States' fourth largest city are voting in a runoff election to choose the new mayor of Houston, Texas. The race is between the top two finishers in November's non-partisan election: Sylvester Turner, a veteran lawmaker seeking to expand economic opportunities; and, Bill King, a businessman pledging to fix city finances. (Reuters)(KPRC-TV)
The U.S. State Department issues a travel advisory for Burundi and advises its citizens there to leave as soon as possible due to the increased violence in the capital Bujumbura where 87 people were killed this weekend. Families of U.S. government personnel and non-emergency personnel have been ordered to leave immediately. (UPI)(US State)
Louisa Johnson wins The X Factor after beating Ghanaian duo Reggie N Bollie, becoming the show's youngest ever winner at the age of 17. her cover of Bob Dylan's 1974 track "Forever Young" released after she won.(Daily Mail)
Unofficial results show at least 17 Saudi Arabian women won municipal council seats in the kingdom's third-ever election, and the first to allow female participation. Voters elected representatives for two thirds of the municipal council seats. The government announced that 979 women were candidates. (Reuters)(NPR)(Daily Pakistan)
While voters in Central African Republic cast their ballots in a constitutional referendum aimed at ending years of sectarian strife, clashes erupt in the capital Bangui's PK5 Muslim neighborhood, killing at least two and injuring over 20. PK5 residents, visited by Pope Francis two weeks ago, marched to the U.N. headquarters in the country to complain they were unable to cast their ballots. The proposed constitution would limit a president to two terms, add an upper house to go along with the National Assembly, and fight institutional corruption. (France24)(Reuters)(Al Jazeera)
Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry reports their investigation of the 31 October 2015 deadly crash of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in the Sinai has not found any evidence of terrorism. Prior to this, the working assumption has been that plane was brought down by a bomb, and a group affiliated with ISIL said it was responsible. (Sky News)(CNN)
A Palestinian rams his car into a bus stop near the Chords Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem before being shot dead by police; fourteen people, including a toddler, are injured in the attack. (Ynet News)(The Times of Israel)
At least seven people are killed in clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish protesters across southeast Turkey, as Turkish authorities declare new curfews across the restive region. According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 52 curfews have been imposed since mid-August by Turkish authorities across seven Turkish provinces in the region, placing around 1.3 million people under curfew. (Reuters)
Business and economics
Oil price reached its lowest since December 2008. Other indicators in broader markets caused investor jitters ahead of the expected interest rate hike by the U.S. central bank on Wednesday. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man from eastern Jerusalem, Muhammad Abu Kaf, is indicted by Israeli prosecutors on eight counts of incitement to violence or terror for posting a video on Facebook calling on people to stab Jews. (Ynet News)
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that increased airstrikes by Russia have forced humanitarian assistance organizations to curtail their relief efforts, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in northern Syria. (The Washington Post)
Typhoon Melor (Nona) causes widespread flooding and blackouts in the Philippines. More than 700,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the storm which hit late on Monday night. (New York Times)
A Baltimore, Maryland deadlocked jury was told by the trial judge to resume deliberations after closing arguments in the first trial of police officer William Porter, charged in the death of Freddie Gray. With demonstrations and unrest following the death, the city has cancelled leave for police officers and the mayor has called for calm when a verdict is announced. (CNN)(The Gazette)
Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District close after receiving an unspecified "electronic" threat. Later, authorities conclude the threat was a hoax, and announce schools will reopen Wednesday. New York City schools' initial response to a similar threatening email was to treat it as a hoax. The emails were largely identical and had been routed through a server in Frankfurt, apparently by the same person. (BBC News)(ITV)(LA School Report)(CNN)(The New York Times)
United Kingdom police arrest a 21-year-old man in Berkshire in the hacking of Hong Kong-based electronic toy maker VTech. Details of more than six million people from servers used to support VTech's learning products app store were compromised. (BBC)(Digital Trends)
New Zealand announces the flag design chosen by the public that will challenge the current flag in a March 2016 vote. Voters will choose between the current flag, which features the British Union Jack with a dark blue background, and the challenger, a silver fern and four red stars on a black and blue background. (CTV)(Stuff)
Pakistan says it was surprised to learn of the country's inclusion in Saudi Arabia's so-called "Islamic anti-terrorist alliance", and that Pakistan was not consulted before inclusion in the alliance by the Saudis. Pakistan's Foreign SecretaryAizaz Ahmad Chaudhry says he has asked the country’s ambassador in Riyadh to get a clarification from Saudi Arabia on the matter. Malaysia has also denied any involvement in Saudi Arabia’s military coalition to counter terrorism. (BBC)(DAWN)
Japan's Supreme Court upholds a 19th-century law that requires married couples to have the same surname, but struck down another law that barred women from remarrying within six months of a divorce as unconstitutional. (The Guardian)
A bank in Minnesota (U.S.) is robbed by the same person a second time while an Iowatelevision station was doing a live update on the first robbery. The robber was arrested shortly afterwards. (Associated Press)
After the jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, a Baltimore, Maryland, judge declares a mistrial in the trial of police officer William Porter, the first officer to be charged in the death of Freddie Gray. (NBC News)(ABC News)
About 100 men in more than 50 machine gun-mounted trucks kidnap at least 26 Qataris, including members of the royal family, from a hunting camp in Iraq near the Saudi border. (Sky News)
Delegates from Libya's warring factions sign a U.N.-brokered agreement to form a national unity government. Some of Libya's armed brigades are closely allied with political leaders who oppose this agreement. (Reuters)(Al Arabiya)
Niger's president Mahamadou Issoufou announces that an attempted coup, involving the use of aerial firepower to overthrow the government has been foiled and those behind it have been arrested. Among those taken into custody were the former military chief of staff, General Souleymane Salou, and Lt. Colonel Dan Haoua, head of the air force base in the capital Niamey. (The Guardian)
A 6.4-magnitudeearthquake hits the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. The epicenter was 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the town of Tres Picos, not far from the Pacific coast. There are no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. (Reuters)(USGS)
Nineteen workers trapped by Wednesday's gas explosion and raging fire in a coal mine in Hegang in Heilongjiang privince are not expected to survive because of carbon monoxide and the high temperatures from the fire, according to the rescue and command office's Zhang Qinxiang. Thirty-three miners escaped. (MINING.com)
Riots break out in the western Dutch town of Geldermalsen over plans to establish a centre for asylum seekers in the town. Local police say they made several arrests. Including this year's arrivals, the Dutch government said in November it expected to receive 58,000 asylum seekers by the end of 2016. (BBC)
Two ballistic missiles are fired from Yemen at Saudi Arabia, one of which is intercepted by the kingdom's air defences, while the other missile lands near the city of Najran, according to a coalition statement on Saudi state media. No casualties have been reported. (AFP via AhramOnline)
An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition hit Iraqi forces as the army engaged militants in poor weather conditions south of the city of Fallujah. Official reports state one soldier was killed, and nine were injured, but casualties may be significantly higher. A military medic says he's treated at least 20 for injuries. (The Washington Post)
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. announces it will change its name to Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. on December 22. Its stock exchange ticker symbol will be IONS. (Reuters)
The Chinese government warns residents in Northern China to prepare for a wave of choking smog arriving over the weekend and lasting through Tuesday, with Beijing affected hardest. The capital city issues its second-ever "red alert" -- the first was announced on December 7, 2015. This alert triggers the odd-even license plate system to halve cars on the road, and recommends schools close. China's National Meteorological Center reports the pollution will stretch from Xi'an, across part of Central China, through Beijing and up into Shenyang and Harbin in China's frigid northeast. (Reuters)(South China Morning Post)
NATO's Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System becomes partly operational at Romania's Deveselu airbase, as U.S. Navy personnel takes control of the site after years of construction. Aegis Ashore facilities in Romania form part of NATO's European missile defence system, with another site under construction in Poland expected to become operational by 2018. The United States Ambassador to RomaniaHans G. Klemm says that they have explained to the Russians on numerous occasions that the missile system is, "not directed at Russia, nor does it have the capability to threaten Russia." The head of Russia's Strategic Missile Troops, Colonel General Sergei Karakayev, has dismissed the purported effectiveness of the missile defense system, saying Moscow develops “brand new and effective means and techniques to penetrate any missile defense system”. (AP via Yahoo News), (RT)
In the United States, a group of hospitals, 32 in 15 states, agree to pay a total of $28 million to settle charges they submitted false claims to Medicare for a type of spinal fracture treatment. This is the latest settlement stemming from a decade-old whistleblower lawsuit about alleged inappropriate billing for kyphoplasty. More than 130 hospitals have paid about $105 million to settle billing claims from this spinal procedure. (Reuters)(The Arizona Republic)
Jeff Weaver, presidential campaign manager for VermontSenatorBernie Sanders, says the DNC's suspending access to the Democratic voter file is part of a "pattern" of actions that suggest the DNC is not impartial. The campaign, which had notified the DNC of software problems, threatens to take the DNC to federal court if the party organization doesn't restore the campaign's access. (UPI)(CNN)
Michael Briggs of the Sanders campaign says the voter data access issue has been “resolved.” (ABC News)
Air France Flight 463 en route to Paris from Mauritius makes an emergency landing in Mombasa, Kenya, after a package, suspected to be a bomb is found in the toilet. Later, Air France CEO Frédéric Gagey says it was a false alarm; the package contained a mixture of cardboard, sheets of paper, and a timer. (AP via News24)(CNN)(Reuters)
A missile-strike in Jaramana in southern Syria kills high-ranking LebaneseHezbollah commander Samir Kuntar and eight National Defence Force (NDF) personnel. The responsibility for the incident taken by the Free Syrian Army, though Hezbollah alleges Israeli involvement. Kuntar was the longest serving Lebanese prisoner in Israel until his release in 2008. On April 22, 1979 Kuntar and his team broke into an apartment building and kidnapped a father, 31-year-old Danny Haran, and his 4-year-old daughter, Einat, taking them to a nearby beach and killing them. (Reuters)
Airstrikes, apparently from Russian jets, kill scores of people in the center of rebel-held Idlib in northwest Syria. The missiles hit a busy market place, several government buildings, and residential areas. At least 73 bodies, 30 unidentified, have been recovered. (Reuters)
Thirty-three buildings collapse after a landslide hit an industrial park in Shenzhen, China, leaving at least 91 people missing. (CNN)
An avalanche in Svalbard, a NorwegianArcticarchipelago, kills one and injures nine others as the snow smashes into 10 houses in Longyearbyen. The deluge from Sukkertoppen mountain follows Friday's 60 mph storm that ripped off a school roof and temporarily closed the airport. Dozens of homes at the foot of the mountain were evacuated and all of the area's residents have been located, according to Tone Hertzberg, a spokeswoman for Svalbard's governor. Experts from Norges Geotekniske Institutt are examining nearby slopes. (AP via CBS News)(newsinenglish.no)
A ferry ran into trouble in rough seas off the coast of Indonesia's island of Sulawesi, with at least three killed, including two children, 39 rescued, and 77 missing. The New Marina, a fiberglass boat, was reported to be carrying 109 passengers with a crew of 10. The National Search and Rescue Agency says the boat sank 22.5 km (24 miles) off the coast of the Wajo Regency in South Sulawesi. Rescue teams expect to resume their search for the missing, Monday. (BenarNews)(Muscat Daily)
Taliban forces overrun the Sangin District in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province following clashes with Afghan security forces which left dozens dead. Taliban militants have reportedly surrounded the local police compound with around 170 officers trapped inside the compound, according to a local official. (FRANCE 24)
At least two people are killed in an attack, near the north-eastern village of El Wak in Mandera County near the Somali border. A group of Kenyan Muslims traveling on a bus ambushed by suspected Al-Shabaab insurgents, protected Christian passengers by refusing to be split into groups, according to eyewitnesses. (BBC)
Fighting continues to rage between the Turkish Army and PKK militants across southeastern Turkey, with the Kurdish-majority cities of Cizre and Silopi both becoming war zones as street-to-street fighting takes place. Turkish tanks shelled civilian houses in Silopi, while a Turkish military helicopter was damaged by PKK fire as it attempted to land in Cizre. Also, two Turkish soldiers were killed and six others wounded in a roadside bombing near the town of Bitlis. Many within Turkey are saying a civil war is now underway. (Al Jazeera)
In Sunday's elections, Spain's center-right ruling People's Party (PP) wins 123 seats (35.1%), and the center-left Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) takes 90 (25.7%) of the 350 seats in parliament, thereby ending Spain's two-party system since neither major party won an absolute majority. Turnout was 73 percent. Spain's new political forces, Podemos and Ciudadanos (C's), get 69 and 40 seats, respectively. Smaller parties split the remaining 28 seats, 17 to Catalonia parties which favor secession. It appears that a coalition government will be necessary. PSOE has declined to join the PP, which actually doesn't want that either. King Felipe, who ascended the throne in June 2014, is constitutionally empowered to mediate. (Stratfor)(Fortune)(International Business Times)(BBC)
President Massoud Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan instructs senior party officials to work on preparations for holding a referendum to decide whether to secede from Iraq, a long-standing Kurdish aspiration. (Today's Zaman)
Turing Pharmaceuticals says that it is looking for a new CEO in the aftermath of the indictment of its old boss, Martin Shkreli, on securities fraud charges. Turing and Shkreli became infamous together in September 2015, when they hiked the price of an AIDS drug by 5000%. (Reuters)
Petitioners alleged Poe doesn't meet the residency and citizenship requirements. The actual decision is still to be released. (CNN)[permanent dead link]
American actor Nicolas Cage agrees to return to Mongolia a stolen dinosaur skull he bought in 2007 for $276,000. Cage says he was unaware the skull had entered the country illegally. (Reuters)(USA Today)
Amnesty International reports at least 200 civilians have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria, indicating "serious failures by Russia to respect international humanitarian law". Moscow denies causing civilian deaths. (BBC)
An overnight raid by suspected Boko Haram militants on Niger's southern border town of Abadam, kills two Nigerien Army soldiers and three civilians. And, separately, a suicide-bomb attack on Lake Chad killed three of the attackers but no one else. A military convoy was also ambushed by militants in northern Cameroon, although there were no reported deaths. (Reuters)
Clashes continue between PKK militants and Turkish Army troops in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey. At least one Turkish soldier is killed and several are wounded in a bomb attack. (Reuters)
Hacktivist collective Anonymous declares a cyber-war on Turkey, and claims responsibility for the major week-long cyber-attack between 14 and 21 December on Turkey, which it accuses of supporting the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and threatened additional attacks in case the alleged support continues. “We will continue attacking your internet, your root DNS, your banks and take your government sites down,” it said. “After the root DNS, we will start to hit your airports, military assets and private state connections. We will destroy your critical banking infrastructure,” the group added. (Hurriyet Daily News)(Independent)
South Korea announces an end to the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak that has killed 36 people since May 2015. The virus infected 186 people, with nearly 17,000 people confined to their homes and thousands of schools temporarily closing at the peak of the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, where it first appeared in 2012. (AFP via FRANCE 24)
Officials report the casualties from yesterday's spring-like storm that triggered more than 20 tornadoes, destroyed homes, delayed and cancelled air flights, and caused power outages in the U.S.Midwest and Southeast have risen to at least 11 people killed with dozens injured. Mississippi GovernorPhil Bryant declares a state of emergency in areas affected by the storm. (NBC News)(Reuters)
Up to 100 people die in an explosion at an LPG gas plant in Nnewi, Anambra, in southern Nigeria. Sources indicate the accident was caused by a truck discharging its contents before the mandatory cooling time had expired. (BBC)(Vanguard)
Uruguay's National Emergencies System reports two people have died in flooding from heavy rains in its northern provinces, and almost 5,500 have been evacuated. The Uruguay River has risen close to three meters over safe levels in Paysandú, and almost four meters (13 feet) in Salto. (Fox News Latino)(Latin American Herald Tribune)
The 53 Americans taken hostage in Tehran, Iran, in 1979, or their families, will receive compensation of $4.4 million each from the United States government as a result of a provision in the spending deal signed into law last week. (ABC News)(The Hill)
With the death of an 18-year-old killer whale at its San Antonio, Texas facility and the recent malfunction of the Sky Tower ride at its park in Orlando, Florida, SeaWorld’s problems in the wake of recent earning shortfalls, decline in attendance, and drop the values of its shares. In response, the company plans new pricing and attractions. (CNN)(CNN)(CNNMoney)
At least one person is injured and another is arrested after a machete attack at Intu Bromleyshopping centre in the United Kingdom during the busy annual Boxing Day sales. A motive or possible link to terrorism has not yet been established. (The Guardian)
The death toll in the spring-like, tornado-laden storms that began Wednesday in the American South has risen to 18 with additional tornadoes hitting north-central Alabama Friday and one outside of Dallas, Texas, today. (NBC News)(USA Today)
Officials report at least four people died and more than 100 were injured, most in Pakistan, after Friday night's 6.3 magnitude earthquake in northeast Afghanistan. Casualty numbers may change since rescue teams have not reached all affected areas. (Latin American Herald Tribune)
In the Louisville community of St. Matthews, Kentucky, US, disruptive behavior by a crowd of up to 2,000 teenagers and young adults, including numerous fights and unconfirmed reports of gunshots fired, causes Mall St. Matthews, one of the largest shopping malls in the state, to close early. Despite the unrest, no arrests were made and only minor injuries were reported. (NBC News)
A twin suicide-bomb attack carried out by two female suicide bombers at a market in the town of Madagali, Adamawa state, leaves over 25 people dead. (BBC)
Thousands of people are evacuated from their homes as flood waters continue to rise across large parts of northern England, with York particularly badly affected. (BBC)
At least 32 people are killed and 90 injured following a car bomb and suicide-bomb attack in the al-Zahra district of the Syrian city of Homs. (Reuters)
A Chinese official who sanctioned a dump of construction debris that led to a deadly landslide in the southern city of Shenzhen that killed at least 7 people and has left over 70 missing, kills himself by jumping from a building in the city’s Nanshan district, according to the South China Morning Post. (TIME)
A police officer storms the police headquarters in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and shoots dead three fellow officers, including a commanding officer. Authorities say Guarionex Candelario, 50, was arrested for the killings shortly afterwards and taken to hospital for minor injuries. (NY Daily News)
A U.S. grand jury decides not to bring charges against a Cleveland policeman over the killing of 12 year old Tamir Rice. (BBC)
The leader of Poland's Democracy Defence Committee, Mateusz Kijowski, says the government has "broken the country" after Polish President, Andrzej Duda, enacted a measure curbing the powers of the country's highest legislative court, the Constitutional Tribunal, despite protests and warnings from the European Union. Kijowski further called for foreign intervention in the country from "Europe and the United States" to topple the Law and Justice (PiS) government, saying "they must help us, otherwise Poland will leave the community of democracies". After news broke that Duda had signed into law the constitutional tribunal bill, he made a speech on television defending his move. Polish newspaperGazeta Wyborcza quoted U.S. sources saying Barack Obama had objections and had let it be known he would delay meeting Duda. The newspaper also suggested Poland’s hosting of the next NATO summit, planned for July 2016, was in the balance. (The Guardian)
Missouri GovernorJay Nixon warns residents that the state faces historic flooding that likely will rival Great Flood of 1993 levels. Swollen rivers are still rising and won't crest for days. The Mississippi River is expected to reach nearly 15 feet above flood stage on Thursday. Nixon pleaded with drivers to stay off inundated roadways. Twelve of the 13 people killed from these recent storms died after their vehicles were swept from flooded roadways. (NBC News)(UPI)
In Anchorage, Alaska pilot Doug Demarest flew a from the Civil Air Patrol without permission and crashed into building which housed his wife's law office and the Alaska Department of Law, killing himself. His family said that the crash was a suicide, while the FBI reiterated that "there is no indication this was a terrorist act" (Toronto Sun)
Ethan Couch, the so-called "affluenza" teen who violated probation for killing four people when driving while intoxicated when he disappeared from Tarrant County, Texas, is taken into custody in Mexico. Mexican officials will remand Couch and his mother, with whom he fled, to the U.S. Marshals Service. (Reuters)
Burundi's President, Pierre Nkurunziza, says Burundians will fight against any African Union peacekeepers sent into the country in response to the ongoing crisis, "everyone has to respect Burundian borders," Nkurunziza said. The African Union said this earlier this month it was ready to send 5,000 peacekeepers to protect civilians caught up in months of violence. (Reuters)
Iraq's Foreign Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, renewed demands that Turkey fully withdraw its troops from northern Iraq, asserting that Turkey must respect Iraq's sovereignty or face potential military action. Last month the Turkish army mounted a big offensive invasion into Iraq's Kurdish territory including tanks and artillery without permission or even negotiation with the Iraqi government. (Reuters)
Belgium cancels New Year's Eve firework celebrations in Brussels amid fears of an Islamic terrorist attack in an unspecified European capital city. (Sky News)
American entertainer Bill Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The county's District Attorney-elect said his office is also examining evidence related to other cases. The current charges relate to one particular 2004 incident. (New York Times)
Two Belgian policewomen and eight soldiers reportedly held an orgy at a police station in the Brussels neighbourhood of Ganshoren while colleagues hunted for the Paris terror attacks suspects. The police station was near Molenbeek, where anti-terror raids had been taking place. Police spokesman, Johan Berckmans, said “we have launched an investigation to find out what exactly happened". (The Guardian)
Voters in the Central African Republic are heading to the polls for the rescheduled parliamentary elections and the first round of the presidential election, where 30 candidates are running to replace Acting PresidentCatherine Samba-Panza. The presidential runoff election is scheduled for 31 January 2016. The Central African Republic has been rocked by unrest since the March 2013 coup of president François Bozizé by Séléka, a mostly Muslim alliance of anti-government groups. Thousands have died and about one million people have been displaced in the ongoing sectarian violence between Séléka and the Christian anti-balaka militia. The United Nations peacekeeping mission has promised a heavy security presence today. (AP via The Washington Post)(Pulse News Agency)
Record flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries that has closed major highways, forced evacuations, and overflowed levees, continues to threaten the Midwestern United States where at least 24 have died. The Mississippi is expected to crest in the next few days in Thebes, Illinois, at 47.5 feet, breaking the 1995 record by more than a foot and a half (46 cm). And now periods of below-freezing air will cause some flooded areas to turn icy. (Reuters)(AccuWeather)(Chicago Tribune)
Air Canada Flight 88, a scheduled flight from Shanghai to Toronto, diverts to Calgary International Airport after the aircraft, a Boeing 777, encountered violent turbulence. Twenty-one passengers, including three children, were taken to hospital. (CBC)
A fire breaks out at The Address Downtown Dubai hotel. Fourteen people are reported as injured, with one indirect casualty. (CNN)
Law and crime
Russian PresidentVladimir Putin signs an amendment to Russia's law regarding the regulation of the use of weapons, giving the FSB the authority to use lethal force on crowds in order to "prevent acts of terrorism, rescue hostages, or repel attacks on public buildings." (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
